Metro Youth Opera

I have been getting to know many of the indie opera companies in Toronto, the latest one of which is Metro Youth Opera, founded by Kate Applin who founded the company in 2010, with their first production of Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutti in 2011.

Her latest production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel & Gretel opens April 25 with a 3 day run at Native Earth’s Aki Studio Theatre in the Daniels Spectrum Building (585 Dundas Street East), a vibrant arts and culture hub nested in Regent Park. Read on…

“Opera has the best chance out of all the performing arts to engage those new audiences, because it’s at the extreme end of the live performance spectrum.” ~ Michael Mori, Artistic Director of Tapestry New Opera

Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to the “indie opera potluck”, a get-together of independent opera companies that have recently emerged in Toronto. Michael Mori, artistic director of Tapestry New Opera initiated the first one back in January, and this second event was hosted by Rachel Krehm, general manager of Opera Five.

“Do the companies here mind sharing when they actually got started?” Maureen Batt of Essential Opera asked on a hunch during a discussion between courses.